Bad news coming for Pentastar fans today, as it appears Chrysler Group will temporarily idle the Detroit factory responsible for assembling its 2014 SRT Viper. Nearly 100 UAW employees will be furloughed while the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant shuts down between April 14 and June 23. The culprit? Decidedly lackluster sales figures for the 10-cylinder quasi-supercar.

All in all, Chrysler Group moved just 591 examples of the Viper in 2013. With inventory beginning to pile up, this year's pace is even slower: Less than 100 units have sold through February. Chrysler Group is keen to stress the 640-hp Viper's niche market position and that slowing production is part of maintaining its flagship's exclusively.

This is all even tougher to swallow considering the Snake's total redesign last year as well as the fact that its perennial rival, the Corvette Stingray, was recently subjected to a $5,000 price hike due to high demand. (Even so, the base model C7 rings in some $45K cheaper than SRT's Viper).